What Are You Chasing?

By: Kristen L. McNulty

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The other day I came home and walked into my room only to find with great surprise my dog, Gracie, underneath my bed. As soon as she saw me she ran out of the room with a guilty look on her face.

Once she left the room I looked under the bed to see what she was going after only to see my slippers there and it suddenly made sense. You see Gracie has an obsession with my slippers. And unlike most dogs it's not because she wants to chew them, she just likes to carry them around and play with them. But Gracie also knows that she's not allowed in my room, yet everytime someone isn't looking, guess where Gracie goes.

And it's not like she needs to go in my room. She has plenty of her own toys that are a lot more appealing than my slippers are, but given the choice, she'll take the slippers every time- even if that means breaking rules to do so.

I bring this up to make a point. Because really, aren't we all like Gracie in that way? Let's face it- we all have a weakness, something that we're prone to chase after. Something that we know isn't right, but we do it anyway. It can be easy to look at that thing as something harmless, but let me remind you- everything has a consequence. That little sin may look little to you, but it can lead to a series of consequences that can literally destroy your life.

Now I know that there are some people listening to this right now who don't see that and maybe even laugh at the thought, but I'm serious. You see, just a like a few weeks ago we talked about how each positive choice we make can change history, each negative choice we make can make a very messy history for us.

We see this as the business man, in an attempt to pursue a bigger house and a better car ignores his family, and now comes home to an empty house. We see this as the high school student ignores God's plan for intimacy and heads down a path of self-destruction. We see this as the young girl goes to a party she shouldn't be at, drinks a little too much, and now nine months later is a single mother. We can see this in our own lives. We search, we chase, we sin, and in the process we ignore the blessings that are right in front of us.

You see, God's plan for each one of His children is good. Even the fact that you're able to listen to this right now means that you're blessed because in order to have the technology to do so, you're a lot richer than the majority of people in this world. But sometimes isn't it a bit too easy to take our eyes off the blessings and instead lust after the things we don't have? I'm not just talking about material here. I'm talking about relationships. I'm talking about lifestyles. I'm talking about anything that you're chasing after that is not what God would have for your life.

Often we can convince ourselves that doing these things isn't such a big deal- don't believe that lie because it is. One choice can literally change the course of your life and if you continue to chase after what you shouldn't be, one day you're going to wake up and find yourself in a place that you have no business being in.

This is the story of my dog breaking the rules to get something she wants. This is the story of the prodigal son. This is the story of the teenage run-away. This is the story of the person sitting in church on Sunday morning with their mind a million miles away. This is the story of every person who's caught up in a chase that's leading them further and further away from God and His blessings.

But this chase doesn't have to go on any longer. In fact it can stop right now. It's up to you. Are you at the point in your life when you're tired of running from the life you know you should be living? Are you at the point when you realize the blessings in front of you are better than the things calling your name elsewhere? Are you at the point where you just can't go on like this anymore?

If so then get down on your knees because God is in this place and He wants this chase to stop even more than you do. He's waiting with His arms open for His child to run into them. He's waiting to take you by the hand and lead you through this life, with blessings so far beyond what you can even imagine. He's waiting for you.

So where ever you are right now, whatever you're doing: stop. Stop running. Stop hiding. Stop pretending. Run into the arms of your Father and He will lead you from here.

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This devotional was aired as a part of the Making A Difference Christian Radio Show.